There are some reports surfacing that Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops has been offered the Notre Dame head coaching job; reports that Stoops has apparently denied. It is an interesting scenario though.

So Let’s Pretend for a Moment

I don’t think Stoops will leave Oklahoma, but for the sake of speculation and entertainment lets pretend Stoops left Norman.

Who should the Sooners hire to replace him?

The most obvious choice would be defensive coordinator Brent Venables–a young, popular head-coaching commodity–but I have a better idea that is somewhat cynical, but bear with me.

Other big names will come up, but the guy the Sooners should hire is located right here in the Big 12, but it isn’t who a lot of people would think.

Are you ready for this?

I think Oklahoma should hire Kansas head coach Mark Mangino, but as a stipulation they should secretly make an arrangement for Mangino to manage his weight by any means necessary.

A lot of people may think this would be an unfair request, but just think about it: obesity is looked down on in America and, at this point, Mangino’s weight is holding him back.

Jason Whitlock, the controversial sports columnist who a lot of people dislike, recently suggested that in the midst of Mark Mangino’s problems regarding his verbal abuse of his players his biggest problem was his weight.

Whitlock is one of my favorite writers and I don’t always agree with him, but it isn’t his job for me to agree with him, it is his job to make me think outside the box. And, in this case, Whitlock hit the nail right on the head.

I have been saying it for a long time that if Mangino weren’t obese he would be looked at much differently as a coach. Rich Rodriguez turned around the West Virginia program and is now the head coach at Michigan. Brian Kelly has done a great job at Cincinnati and there is no doubt he will be upgrading soon. But Mangino’s name has never even been mentioned.

Coaches around the country are getting upgraded head coaching jobs for turning around programs, but now, after one down year, Mangino is on the hot seat? When you think about him, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? It should be that he is a hell of a football coach, but the harsh reality is that it is his weight.

How many times have you seen Bob Stoops or Nick Saban cuss out a player after a mistake? Yet, while Stoops is having a down year in Norman, you aren’t hearing the admnistration nitpicking about him yelling at his players.

Mangino’s weight has made him an easy target at a vulnerable time, similar to the young, chubby kid who gets picked on at school. If he looked like Stoops or Saban his name would come up when big-time coaching positions became vacant, but  instead he is stuck in Kansas and might even be on his way out.

Mangino was the offensive coordinator at OU when they won their only national championship under Stoops and he has turned around the Kansas program juristically. Kansas isn’t a powerhouse by any means, but at a school where football is strictly looked at as preseason basketball entertainment, Mangino has made football somewhat significant.

Mangino’s best season with the Jayhawks in 2007, in which the Jayhawks ended the season with a 24-21 victory over No. 5 Virginia Tech, was due in large part to the fact the Jayhawks had a favorable Big 12 schedule. Sure, they didn’t have to face Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech, but it is hard to deny that Mangino can flat-out coach.

If you don’t believe me, just wait and see how quickly Mangino gets another job if the Jayhawks foolishly get rid of him. It will take Mangino less time to snatch up a coordinator position faster than it takes Paris Hilton to snatch up new boyfriends.

A Head Coaching Job…That is Another Story

A head coach represents a University and is the face of the institution and the program. Would you really want Mangino to be the “face” of your program? If not, then why? Because of his coaching?

I seriously doubt it. If your son was being recruited by Mangino, would you be able to take him as seriously as a coach that wasn’t obsese?

Pure and simple: Mangino’s weight overshadows his good coaching and negatively affects his image and the way he is treated and looked at by others. Kansas would be foolish to let him go–a football coach of his calibur should never be on the hot seat in a program like Kansas–but if Mangino ever wants to reach his maximum potential as a football coach, he is going to have to gain control of his weight, because at this point his apparent obescity is the source of all his problems.